To The F*ckers Who Broke Into Our Store — Thank You

Sharing the real and the raw about starting a new business. #100daysofstartup

“We were robbed. I’m calling the police.”

My heart stopped as the call disconnected.

A punch to the gut and the mouth at the same time. Momentarily stunned, sick and numb. My only thought was — Son of a B!#ch! Who the F would do this?

As I was picking myself up off the proverbial floor, I snapped out of that line of thought to where I needed to focus.

I sent a text — “are you ok?”

The return call told me the police were already there, and getting to work on the investigation.

By the time I arrived on the scene, the glass company had already been there to measure the door. The insurance guy had been called. The police had dusted down the the place for finger prints. Now it was time to clean up and put things back together.

I’m writing this because I committed to telling my story about what it’s really like to start a new business. I had something else in mind about my first story…….but here we are.

The point was to tell the real and the raw. Not the stuff I call entrepreneurial porn…..making everything sound amazing and exciting. It isn’t. It’s hard work with no promise of success. Most people grind away, sometimes for years, trying to figure out how to make their business work. When you don’t know the truth, you aren’t ready for the reality.

Business can be amazing and exciting. That’s why it’s worth the effort if you can get it right. But you have to be able to take the punch in the mouth and get back up.

Let me take you back to where I wanted to start.

A few years ago we offered to help any of our kids who wanted to start a business. The offer was intentionally vague. We didn’t really know what that would look like, we would have to figure it out. It had too many variables to be specific.

Early in August, the first opportunity came up. We ran through some rough numbers and inked the deal. We opened September 1. My son and I were now business partners. He would provide the technical skills to run the business and do most of the marketing. I would provide the finances, accounting, and general business and systems knowledge.

Ready, set, GO! It always feels like a race. A million things to do. A lot of stuff to figure out. You never really know what you are getting into, until you are in it. For me it is about understanding the big picture and figuring out the rest as you go along. You can write a fancy 50 page business plan if you want. My experience is that most of that is bullshit.

My preference is a back of the napkin calculation, some fundamental research about the market and tenacity.

But how do you measure tenacity? That is where the “Thank You” comes in. Until you take a full on punch to the mouth, you don’t really know how tenacious you are. I’ve been business partners with some who would talk a big game when things were going well. But when the shit hit the fan they would be nowhere to be found.

Now I have real experience with a business partner who didn’t disappear and leave me with the mess. He dug into all the tough stuff and kept going. Had the store back up and running within a few hours and had a solid day of sales.

We also had the opportunity to see who else was in our corner. The police, the insurance guy and the glass company were on it ASAP. Many customers expressed their support. That was great to see.

There was also a lack of response from some that I have noted as well. It reminded me to be more observant of future interactions with them. Or maybe I have unrealistic expectations…..we will see.

And of course, we have stepped up security. We learned not be complacent just because we are in a pretty crime free area.

The event was humbling but I believe now more than ever that one of the most underrated skills in business is the ability to keep going in the face of adversity. We got knocked down, but we aren’t out…..not by a long shot!

I would really appreciate a clap if you enjoyed reading this article!

Hi, I’m MaryEllen. I used to be a CPA. Then I got burned out. I thought I could just wrap it up and be done. So I retired from the corporate world at 48 and set off for parts unknown with only half a plan. I’d figure out the rest later. What I know for sure is jumping off the path and figuring out my own way was the best idea I ever had.

I didn’t want to be done, I just wanted to make my own rules about work and retirement. I’ve been figuring out a lot since then and I share what I have learned here and on my blog at maryellenmiller.com. I’m also on Twitter @TalkMoneyWithME